Our other coffee pot finally gave out and they stop group feature was not working anymore. We have been trying this one for the past week and it works much better. The thermal carafe keeps the coffee hot for almost two hours, which tends to be enough for my family. The only mild complaint we have about it is that you cannot tell how much coffee is in the carafe because it is completely dark and not glass. Sometimes I pull the coffee pot out only to find it is already empty.